A good resume will go a long way to helping you secure a job, and this is as relevant for a 16-year-old looking for their first job as it is for a 46-year-old who has plenty of work experience under their belt. However, getting a resume just right can be hard, so you need to find some time to sit down and spend some quality time writing and tweaking it. If you’re starting out and you feel a little bit lost, try following some of these tips.
Tailor It
Make sure your resume is specific to the job you are applying for. Try not to put in work experience or references that are not necessarily relevant to the position you want, as they may detract from your overall message. Additionally, try and make the content of your summary as unique as possible so employers can immediately see your point of difference.
Language Choice
Your choice of language is extremely important when you are writing a resume. You have to be confident and formal but in a way that is also relatable to whoever ends up reading it. Refrain from using personal pronouns such as ‘I’, ‘we’ and ‘our’ because you want your resume to sound as professional and businesslike as possible, and by using these pronouns, your resume will drift into a recount of your achievements instead of simply stating them.
Keywords
Keywords are great for grabbing your potential employers’ attention as they will most likely be scanning through a great number of resumes at one time. These keywords are usually present in the advertisement for the position, so you can use that to your advantage. Alternatively, if you’re applying for many positions in the same industry, you might see that many of the same words appear in their job descriptions; these are your keywords.
Concise
Be as concise as you can; try and fit everything onto one or two pages, if you can. Employers don’t want to be flipping through pages and pages of writing just to see who you are and if you will be a good fit for the position. Depending on which industry you’re applying within, it may also show your potential employer that you have the ability to be concise when you need to, which can only be an advantage.
These are just some things you might want to consider if you’re writing or updating your resume. Needless to say, remembering to include all the essentials is also vital. This means writing details of any relevant work experience and education, including any courses you might have completed through an online institution such as Evocca College. A great resume does take time and effort, so get cracking!
What do you think makes a great resume? How have you constructed yours and have you had success with it? What do you think are the things you should and shouldn’t put into a good resume? Leave your thoughts and advice in the comments section down below to help out other job seekers.
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I feel like this post also follows your list of criteria for a great resume haha. Your list is great! It really covers everything you need for a professional resume. Sometimes I have friends who ask me to vet their resumes for them, and it’s surprising to how much irrelevant information clutter up their page!